Originally Posted by Sluggo_63

You're going to find a lot of people here who are going to defend FedEx to the end, can't see the negatives, and won't be able to fathom why anyone would want to leave.

I would say that there are pluses and minuses here, for sure. Just like other places. Pilots tend to polish their own turds and downplay any negatives that their airline may have.

FedEx guys will routinely poo-poo the negatives... "Hub turning isn't that bad, you get used to it". "Over 70% of our flying is during the day". And it goes on.

But be aware that your buddies at other airlines do the same. Maybe I would have enjoyed myself at Southwest, but when I hear my buddies say they flew 800+ hours in a year, or "we rarely five 5 legs a day any more" or "we get to pick up as much work as we want to make money," I just shake my head and wonder how they do it... just like they look at us landing somewhere at 7:00 am and think "those poor bastards."

I was at a major passenger airline in 2001 and was furloughed after 9/11. I was lucky enough to get hired here after 5 years as a furloughee. I turned down the recall to my airline in 2007, which was a good thing because I would have been furloughed again in the recession of 2008.

But, when I was a new hire here there were nights I really questioned my decision to jump from a steady 9-5 job in the Air Force Reserves to come here. I had a scattershot VTO schedule with me making multiple commutes to work, just to hub turn all night in the back seat of the 727, hanging in the straps just trying to stay awake on final. I was seriously wondering what I had done.

But it got better. As my seniority grew, so did my quality of life. Week-on/week-off became a reality. Then came double deadheads to my home town. I was home more and blocking less. Life was good.

I tell everyone that comes here that being junior here sucks. Some of the worst flying in the airline industry is our junior domestic flying. That isn't a debate. It can be horrible. But with seniority, it gets a lot better. I think the problem you're facing right now, is you got hired in what seems like it may be the beginning of a slowdown in hiring keeping you from gaining seniority as quickly as others that have gone before you. It's easy for me and others to say, it'll be good once you get some seniority, because we're already senior and maybe didn't experience being a 90% 757 FO hub turning for years with no option to improve our lot in life.

When we were hiring 20 pilots a month, we always had guys in class who came from other airlines, including the "big 4." Although it wasn't publicized, I'll guarantee that we had quite a few pilots leave here for other jobs at other airlines.

So, really, I have no advice to give you except be wary of people who tell you that you're crazy to think about leaving, because you aren't. Their history here may not line up with your reality. But also be aware of your friends at other airlines who tell you how good it is there while ignoring the downsides of their jobs.

Whatever you decide, good luck to you. I wish you the best.